9 October 2017

Biters - The Future Ain't What It Used to Be

Another
album which is months late in being reviewed! Well, as we approach the
end of the year, I will be trying to catch up with all the records I have
missed in 2017 (and probably have a few round up reviews as well). Biters are no
strangers to this page, I reviewed their first album Electric Blood (our
review cleverly linked here)
and I found it very enjoyable. It was a little bit simple in a way, back
to the very basics of rock 'n' roll and played very well. If you are
looking for harsh and distressing numbers, this is not the band for you.
Biters are here to rock and they have been doing it extremely well. Their
second album The Future Ain't What It Used to Be was released in May
2017, with an even more outlandish cover than their first record. I like
that, it sorts of says that they are taking things up a notch. Let's find
out if the music has done the same......

01
- Let It Rock

It
is another back to basics rock & roll anthem, it has all the right ingrediencies
to be an instant classic in their live set. A riff that keeps on giving,
a solo that will have people wishing they can play guitar, a song that is
designed for the rock dance floor and it will have people hitting the peddle
when it comes on it the car. I love this sort of song, it just gets in
your head and it is a great opening song for this album.

02
- Stone Cold Love

The
spirit of Marc Bolan is invoked on "Stone Cold Love", it is
glam rock to the core and it sounds brilliant when it is played as loud as
possible. This song is a slow and sleazy number, again it is not doing
anything that hasn't been done before. But when it sounds this good, who
cares!

03
- Callin' You Home

This
song has an end of gig feeling, it is a winding down song with a sing-along
feeling to the chorus section which is unescapable. The pace slows down
dramatically with this number, as the broken hearts are being show with every
passing riff and beat. It is a good song, but is it placed at the right part of
the album? I mean, it is a song which could be used to send the listener
home, but that is just my own internal DJ thoughts there.

04
- Don't Turn This Good Heart Bad

We have another heart breaker with "Don't Turn This Good Heart Bad",
this track is firmly in 80's classic rock territory and it sounds decent.
Mid-paced, another sing-along feeling to the song and it has a natural energy.
It is not my favourite of their career, but it is still a decent enough song.

05 - Gypsy Rose

We are back onto the full Bolan on this song, with love being the flavour of
the day. Much like "Don't Turn This Good Heart Bad", it
is a decent number which keeps the toes tapping and showcases the Biters love
of that Glam Rock sound, which will have fans of the genre in rapture.

06
- No Stranger to Heartache

Adding the smallest amount of energy back into the album, we have another love
song on this record with "No Stranger to Heartache".
With more sing-along sections than your average Grunge band can ever cope with,
it has a subtle bridge section in the middle of the song which raises the
stakes in the simplistic way. It is a basic song, one based in broken
love and it sound great.

07 - Vulture City

We are out of the heartache and into a classic rock track with "Vulture
City", it is an old-school stomper of a track with a pure rock
heart! It is one that seems destined for classic rock stations to pick up
and play at least once an hour, with its straight up rock riff that just keeps
on giving.

08 - Hollywood

A piano!!! Some people will say it is the end of days, but "Hollywood"
(a tale about trying to be a massive band in Tinsel Town) is a stomper in line
with other classic ballads from over the years. It is a brilliant song
with a dramatic edge over a lot of this album, I love the drama of the song,
but it is the second or third song on the album which could have been used to
end the record.

09 - Chasin' The Feeling

We are back on the classic hard rock sound for Biters on "Chasin' The
Feeling", leaving the glam feeling of the earlier part of the album to
the side. The song is a basic number, steady verse and chorus sections, a
good solo and a fine performance on vocals. It is not the most spectacular
of the album, but it is still a decent penultimate song.

10 - Goin' Back to Georgia

Ending the album with a track about wanting to return home, about wanting to
sleep in your own bed and to be with a loved one. Now, once you hear this
song, you can tell why it is the ending track. It is designed to calm the
audience down when everything is said and done, it is a beautifully crafted
song and well played.

When
all is said and done, The Future Ain't What It Used to Be can be best
described as a decent, good break-up album. The best percentage of this album is
breakup songs or songs about being alone, also I have used the words decent and good an awful lot to describe the music on this album. The leaning to the slower rock
songs (they are not ballads) does take a bit of the wind out of the Biters
sail, it does not have the outlandish energy of Electric Blood and that
knocks a point or two off it. You cannot say this album is poorly played,
it is still of a high quality. They still play to their strengths, but I would have liked to have hear a bit more energy in some of the songs, especially after the brilliant opening of "Let It Roll". It is just not as spectacular as their
first one, but it does warrant more than one listen. Overall, it is a
good album and that cover is absolutely bonkers! File under for dark
times only.

Welcome to the final round-up review of 2017! Similar to the Round-Up posts I put up earlier in the year, I’m going to be posting some bull...

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Album scoring system

0 - This is proof there is no deity1 - You're really are touching the bottom of the barrel with this one2 - If only there was some quality control3 - It could have been a bit better4 - Well it's alright, but still......5 -Not for everyone but played well6 - Now I see where you were going, but it's not quite there7 - This is good and well worth a check8 - Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my money, time and heart9 - Almost perfect....Almost10 - This is proof there is a deity(For albums that are too crazy to be marked)Crazy Cat symbol - This album cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens

Singles/EP Marking System

0 - Only to be listened to by people bless with the gift of being deaf1 - Not so much on the bad that it is bottom of the barrel, but it can see the stuff down there2 - Not bad, not good - so average it is Zen3 - Decent, getting there4 - This is really good, well worth checking out5 - I wish I had extra ears to love this more(For Singles/EPs that are too crazy to mark)Crazy Cat symbol - This release cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens